Marion Kathryn Woodard

Marion Kathryn (Boyajian) Woodard, 95, died Monday, July 11, 2022 in St. Louis, MO.

Marion was the daughter of Armenian parents who immigrated to the United States shortly after World War I during the Armenian diaspora. She was born in New Britain, Connecticut in 1927 and lived through the Great Depression and World War II. Her parents highly valued education. Although of modest means, they insisted that she attend college. She attended the Connecticut State Teachers College and received her bachelor's degree in history from Houghton College (1948), Houghton, NY. She went on to teach history at Houghton Academy, Houghton, NY and in the Lawrenceville, NY school system (1949-1950). Deciding on a career in Library Science, she volunteered as a librarian at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL (1951-1953). She later worked at the King's College in Briarcliff Manor, NY and concurrently attended Columbia University in New York City (1953-1958), where she earned a Master's Degree in Library Science. She married Paul Woodard in 1962. After living in Cambridge, MA for two years, Marion and Paul made their home in Newton, Massachusetts where they raised their two children. She and Paul were married for 48 years. Marion lived in Newton until the last few years of her life. Throughout her life, she worked as a librarian at the Greenwich Connecticut High School, Massachusetts College of Art, Greater Boston Legal Services, and Babson College Horn Library. She loved gardening, studying the Bible, and was an active member of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts from 1972 until her move to St. Louis. She was a devoted wife and mother. She is survived by her daughter Pamela Woodard and son-in-law Edward O'Donnell of St. Louis, Missouri, her grand-daughter Gwyneth McDonald of Silver Spring, MD, her son Geoffrey Woodard of Bethesda, Maryland and Newton, Massachusetts. She was predeceased by her husband, Paul, and her brother George Boyajian.

Gifts in memory of Marion Woodard may be made to the Paul E. Woodard Health Science Library at New England Baptist Hospital, Attention: Office of Philanthropy, 125 Parker Hill Avenue, Boston, MA 02120.